Teknmotion Yapster Headset

Feature

November 9th, 2008 by Patrick Steinmann

Yapping at the bigger dogs
With the advent of professional gaming, there has been a noticeable trend in the gaming industry towards �professional-grade�, high-quality peripherals (which are subsequently rather costly, in the majority of cases). Nowadays, things like mice, headsets or keyboards may sell for well over 100$, or even more. But is it really necessary to spend such amounts on peripherals? No, says Teknmotion. To investigate this claim, we�ve put Teknmotion�s budget headset, Yapster, through its paces. Find out more below.

The Bare Essentials
The Yapster headset is marketed not only towards budget gamers, but also towards those who seek a headset for VoIP, or simply listening to music. Therefore, the features list isn�t quite as lengthy as that of other headsets:

2.1 Stereo Sound
2 Audio Jack Connectors (3.5mm)
Speaker Diameter 40mm
In-line Volume Control
2.2m Connector Cables
Omni-directional Microphone
Adjustable Fit

While this list may seem short, it really is all a casual user/gamer will ever need. To reflect this, the Yapster headset is �Plug �n Play�, meaning you can simply plug the two standard 3.5mm audio jacks into the proper sockets on your PC, and the headset will work perfectly fine. No drivers are required, which is definitely a good thing for �non-savvy� users. Thanks to this, we had no problem connecting the headset to a variety of machines (Vista, XP, as well as various Linux distros), and using it without any trouble.

Good Build Quality
Thanks to the omission of things such as multiple drivers in each earcup, or lighting effects, the Yapster headset is fairly light and small. Nevertheless, the earcups are circumaural (which means they enclose the entire ear). The whole headset feels very well built and we�re sure it will survive all but the most careless of treatments. There are no loose-fitting or rattling parts, and the headset does not feel cheap in any way.

The in-line control box offers up a switch and an analogue wheel. The first is for muting the built-in microphone, while the latter can be used to regulate the volume, which is a very nice feature to have. These two controls created no problems for us and came in very handy at times. On a side note, the control box is positioned almost perfectly � it is not too far down on the cable, and it is not too high up. It is in the perfect spot, exactly where your hand lands when you reach down for it. This may sound like a trivial feature, but once you use a headset where the control box isn�t situated as well, you will thank Teknmotion for their smart design team (either that, or it was a lucky shot ;)).